Tuesday, 19 November 2013

This week has seen the carving on the front of the present chest being finished and edge mouldings being applied with a scratch stock. After trial fitting it is time to drill the mortice and tenons and then hammer the pegs home.

Monday, 11 November 2013

There has been a bit of a break from the carving on this chest. I jumped the gun and carved the front panels several weeks ago now, but then realised that several framing members which I had prepared earlier had worm in them. New stiles knocked up. Rewind.

Back to the point where I can start carving again. The top rail on the photos I took of the Dennis chest seem to have no layout showing. I am assuming that the carver must have at least laid out the centres for the flower stems at equal distances along the rail with compasses.

Then chopped with a gouge the flower centres and intermediate circles. The rest appears to be freehand with the v-gouge.

I am roughing out the freestyle bits with chalk until I get used to this pattern.

Pattern outlined and background removed.

Background will need matting, chamfers and some punch work still to do tomorrow.

Saturday, 9 November 2013

You will probably have gathered by now that one of my interests is 17th century joined furniture of England and New England, so I was very happy to acquire and read this book last week.

Full of back story to the woodworking going on in Ipswich Massachusetts in its early years as a colony and some suggestions about English woodworking of the same period. There are details of construction which differentiate the hand of Thomas Dennis/William Searle from other joiners working in New England at the time. For instance the use of half inch tenons on the ends of the rails. It is possible that either of them (if indeed they both originated in Devon, England) would have carried this habit when they emigrated to New England, meaning that any chest made here in Devon, and ascribed to them may have those half inch tenons. I will have to get another look at the Dennis chest I am using as inspiration for the current chest I am working on, to see if this is so.

Anyway, my chest is going to have half inch rail tenons, so this week I dug out my half inch mortice chisel and gave it a sharpen.

With this split in the handle I didn't hold much hope for the pounding I was about to give it.

And sure enough, half way through the second mortice, it gave up the ghost - or should I say ghosts; the ghosts of Mr. Sedlen and Mr. Lake RIP. I wonder when and where they used this chisel!

A small chunk of well-seasoned ash, a couple of sections of scaffold bar and we have the new uberhandle. I don't think I'm going to split this one in a hurry.

Also following the advice of Mr. Tarule, although I haven't had a problem with it before, I cut all the tenons first the other day, to give them maximum time for drying out before the chest is drawbored. Using the newly handled half inch chisel I chopped the mortices for the front frame of the chest today.

All achieved in the warmth provided by my new woodburner. Thanks Judy!